Acceptance
by Moony1972
Summary: Tom Riddle is dying. Here are his thoughts. QLFC 4


A/N: Okay never thought I'd write anything like this before. But I'm trying. I'm supposed to demonstrate an emotion without telling you. I'll tell you at the end ;) Seeker of Puddles round 4. This is Tom Riddle reflecting on his life. This does mention religion in it, completely not meant to offend in any way.

The curse is rebounding. I don't know why the hell it is, but I see it. It's coming towards me. And there's nothing I can do.

.oOo.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Never talks to anyone, don't ask me."

The laughter rang in my ears. I didn't know why they laughed, I'd never spoken anything weird to them.

"Hey, Riddle!"

I didn't respond. I never got angry. I'd let the kids taunt me. One day, I'd leave them all in the dust. I'd be better than all of them.

I wished my parents were still alive.

.oOo.

I told the enforcement I didn't want to hurt him. It wasn't my fault. How could it?

I never carried a lighter with me. I was just standing there, the kid laughing, and then screaming.

He had burst into flames and died.

When I went up to bed after hours, I couldn't stop thinking about the kid. It was too much of a coincidence.

Perhaps my prayers had been answered. God had finally decided to come down and help me out.

And for the first time, I realized that he was there with me. We were a team. He and I were partners in crime.

It was the greatest day of my life.

.oOo.

I didn't abuse the power of having God being able to come over and help me when I needed it.

I only called him when the regular people annoyed me. Or walked where I didn't want them to go.

It was fun.

I stole their wallets, their toys, their shirts...

I humiliated them in ways they could never understand. I was powerful.

.oOo.

People started to link the cause of the problems to me. But I never spoke about me being the caller of God. Instead, I said:

"God is paying you back."

This led to ridicule.

I couldn't help myself. I called.

The group's noses all turned blue. I put my hands up; it wasn't me.

The students all started treating me with respect. They never let me play with them.

I thought they were scared. I was proud.

.oOo.

My birthday came and went without a single visitor, just like every other year. No one ever showed up.

I sat in my room and stared at an empty wall.

I heard a very creepy voice whisper to me, "Happy Birthday, Tom."

I looked around. I didn't see anyone.

"Down here."

It was a snake. A snake was talking to me.

"Thank you," I whispered back. "I appreciate it."

The snake nodded.

It was God. Or, better yet, it was my friend.

I grabbed the snake and stuffed it in my backpack.

"You be good, now," I whispered.

.oOo.

Apparently God had not been coming down to Earth to help me out. The old man told me I was a wizard: that's why I could talk to snakes, that's why weird things happened when I was around.

It turns out God wasn't a friend I had at my fingertips, after all.

When I enter Hogwarts, though, I'd be popular. Everyone would think that I'm so cool.

I won't be the freak.

I opened my bag.

"Hello Nagini. Do you want to come to Hogwarts?"

The snake nodded. I grinned. We would have so much fun together.

.oOo.

"I see the ambition, Tom Riddle. I see what you're willing to do. You're a Slytherin through and through."

It was brilliant. I would definitely fit in there.

.oOo.

Except I didn't. For some reason, people seemed to stay away from me. I thought I acted normal.

I mocked the Gryffindors. I mocked those who weren't of Pureblood - even though I was fully aware of my own blood imperfections. But what could I do? I just wanted to fit in.

I really tried.

I had even got that Rubeus Hagrid expelled from Hogwarts. Yet no one seemed to want to be my best friend.

I thought I was a good kid.

.oOo.

I worked hard during my OWL year. I expected that, with my good grades, I would have people pouring in from everywhere to come and request help from me.

But it never happened.

Why was it so hard for me to make friends?

.oOo.

Defense against the Dark Arts never came easy to me. I had received an 'E' on my OWL. I never knew why either. I had to think about it as I slept.

It was because I never really understood when we would use it. No one uses Dark Magic anymore.

I had to research it more to become good at defending. Yet it was interesting. Dark Magic just seems so limitless compared to the other forms of magic we are learning in Hogwarts.

And that was when I came across a book. It told me that it is possible to become immortal through killing.

I thought that it is worth a shot. It was not like I had a reputation to uphold in any way. I did not have friends.

.oOo.

Not having friends gave me a lot of time to practice. I showed Nagini the different spells I learned.

Nagini thought that it was cool.

I love Nagini. Nagini was my best friend. Nagini was someone I can depend on.

I took it upon myself to research a Dark Magic spell that could make Nagini live longer. I succeeded.

.oOo.

I graduated from Hogwarts with honors. My career was supposedly chosen for me. I could do anything I wanted.

And I decided that I did not want to become a Healer. I wanted to be a leader. And I wanted people to look up to me.

They have looked down to me all my life. They have never spoken to me.

I would make them speak to me.

.oOo.

I succeeded. I became the greatest wizard the world has ever seen. Parents told their children stories about the great "Voldemort".

People were scared of me.

.oOo.

I heard a prophecy that was about the end of my life. But they did not know that I was immortal.

I made history. I made seven Horcruxes and I became the greatest wizard of all time.

And I did not need anyone by my side.

.oOo.

A baby takes me down, but it does not matter. It is not the first time I have not had people surrounding me. I know one day I will come back to power, for I am not dead. I will never die.

My legacy still lives on.

I bet the people who used to ignore me in the hallways regret it now.

.oOo.

And yet, now I see that I am dying. There is nothing I can do to stop it. I have no Horcruxes. My only friend is dead.

Perhaps I am okay with this. The curse is rebounding.

I know I am not coming back. But it is okay. I will be dead, and I will be with Nagini.

It is better than the lack of acceptance here in the world.

THE END

A/N: Thoughts? I really enjoyed this analysis of Tom Riddle, I've never thought of him this way. My word was "lonely".


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